What's
new in CADAM Drafting Version 4 Release 3

The following changes have been made to the
CADAM Drafting product since Version 4Release
2.5.

System Changes

CADAM Drafting Version 4 Desupport

CADAM Drafting Version 4 on Windows was desupported as of December 31, 2015. V4R3 SP4 will be the last Version 4 Service Pack.

Windows 7, Windows 8 support added
(Windows only)

Windows 7 and Windows 8 are now supported for use with CADAM
Drafting V4.

Windows 2000 support removed
(Windows only)

CADAM Drafting V4 no longer supports
Windows 2000.

DSLS licensing support available

The option to use DSLS for licensing (in place of LUM, which is being desupported at the end of 2013) is available. To use DSLS, the environment variable DSLICENSING=DSLS must be set. DSLS uses different licenses than LUM and, therefore, the customer must obtain new licenses when switching to DSLS. For more information on DSLS see http://www.cadam.com/DSLSLicenseMigration.htm.

Preselect Highlight (Windows only)

Preselect highlight is now available for the Windows version of CADAM Drafting. The Preselect Highlight option can be activated and deactivated under View -> Data Tips. It is active by default.

CADAM Cursor (Windows only)

The ability to dynamically see defining points, intersecting points and other points of interest has been added to CADAM Drafting as a feature called "CADAM Cursor". When this feature is active (the default), passing the cursor over an element will temporarily show points of interest on that element. These temporary points can then be selected to create additional geometry. This feature enhances user productivity by removing the need to go to FK Point to create construction points. This feature is only active in the Point, Line, Circle and Spline function keys.

F6 for indicate

An indicate can now be triggered by pressing F6.

Export SVG (Windows only)

CADAM Drawings can now be exported in SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) format. SVG can be viewed in most browsers and edited in many graphics and illustration products. This new function can be accessed using File -> Export.

Double buffering (Windows only)

Double buffering is a display technique that can be used to improve display performance. This new option is accessed through Options -> Device Settings. Note that CADAM Drafting must be restarted for this option to take effect.

Open and Export DXF and DWG (Windows only)

DXF and DWG files can now be quickly opened under File -> Open. Drawings can be quickly saved in these formats using File -> Export.

Keyin line autocomplete (Windows only)

The keyin line now supports autocomplete, allowing the user to quickly recall strings that have been previously keyed in. The autocomplete feature is optional. This option can be set under Options -> Device Settings.

Support for dual monitors (Windows only)

Support has been added to CADAM Drafting to correctly run in a dual monitor environment.

File opens in Window ALL (Windows only)

Drawings will be opened with a Window ALL if there are no window sets defined. If window sets are defined, the previous function of opening in window set /1/ will be maintained.

License type check (Windows only)

Users can now check the type of license being used during their CADAM Drafting session by selecting Help -> About this machine...

New method for pan and zoom (Windows only)

Panning the window can now be done by simultaneously pressing the CNTL key and the left mouse button while moving the mouse. Zooming the window can now be done by simultaneously pressing the CNTL key and the right mouse button while moving the mouse.

Updated File dialog (Windows only)

The File Open/Save dialog box has been updated. The display format (Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List, Details) last chosen by the user is remembered.

Additional feedback on toolbar buttons (Windows only)

Toolbar buttons are more clearly highlighted when the cursor moves over them. The current function key is highlighted in blue.

Windows Installation simplified (Windows only)

The CADEX files are now installed as part of the standard CADAM Drafting installation process. A separate license is still required to use this product.

Physical address and hostname information (Windows only)

The menu item About this Machine under the Help pulldown menu provides the physical address and hostname information for the workstation. This information is useful when obtaining licenses for CADAM Drafting.

Set point size interactively (Windows only)

Point size can now be set interactively under Options -> Display Settings. This option was previously only available under cadprof.

Note parameters can be set via a Windows panel (Windows only)

You can now set all note parameters through the general Properties panel. With Advanced Mouse Button Functions set on, right-click in any open area on the drawing, then click on Properties... then click on the Change button next to Notes. A panel containing all of the note properties appears, as well as a sample note that shows what the current properties will look like when applied to a note. This panel provides the same function as setting parameters individually under the /PARMS/ function in function key Note.

CNTL keys for editing (Windows only)

Cntl+X, Cntl+C, and Cntl+V can now be used to access the CADAM Drafting Cut, Copy and Paste functions.

Scale and Rotate clipboard contents(Windows only)

The contents of the CADAM clipboard can now be scaled and/or rotated when using the View CADAM Clipboard function.

Enhanced Data Tips for Symbols and Dittos(Windows only)

Data Tips for dittos have been enhanced to add the referenced detail number, as well as the scale and rotation of the ditto. Data Tips for symbols have been enhanced to add the scale and rotation of the symbol.

Key x,y location for Paste Special(Windows only)

An x,y location can now be keyed when initially pasting the clipboard contents or when moving the clipboard contents that were just pasted. This function is available under Paste Special.

Multiple part field definitions(Windows only)

Previously there was only one PN,FN definition in Cadprof ("Num. chars per field" in the Drawing Management panel). Now administrators can define "exception" directories (on local filesystems) and groups (on remote systems). See Drawing Management Parameters on Windows for more information.

Advanced Mouse Button - Edit Note(Windows only)

All properties of a note can now be edited, and immediately visualized, by right-clicking on a note and selecting the Edit Note function.

New Layers panel (Windows only)

The Layers modification panel in FK Group /LAYERS/ has been converted to a Windows panel. This panel is now also accessible with a right mouse button click using the Advanced Mouse Button function.

Multiple Function Key Toolbar Sizes (Windows only - added in SP3)

'Small' and 'Large' function key toolbar sizes are now available. The size is selected under View -> Toolbars -> Use Text.

FK Analysis Change

Exporting Section and Mass properties (Windows only)

When specifying that Section or Mass property results should be placed on a detail page, they are now also automatically exported to a CSV file.

FK Circle Change

Ellipse definition with parallelogram

Ellipses can now be defined by selecting 4 sides of a parallelogram.

FK Corner Changes

Chain mode when creating chamfers

"Chain mode" is now available when creating chamfered corners.

New trim options when creating chamfers

Chamfer now offers Trim #1 and Trim #2 options.

FK Detail Changes

/LIST/ panel is now a Windows panel (Windows only)

The /LIST/ panel in FK Detail has been converted to a Windows dialog panel.

/LIST/ available for transfer (Windows only)

The detail LIST panel is now available when performing a detail transfer operation.

Thumbnails

A new menu item, THUMBNAIL, has been added to allow the user to display thumbnail views of all the details in the current model.

FK Dimension Changes

Select points under /TOUCH/ (Windows only)

A point can now be selected under the TOUCH option when positioning or repositioning the dimension text.

Support for symmetry dimensions

A new menu item, /SYM/, has been added to allow Symmetry dimensions to be created under the JIS and ISO standards.

JIS style radius and diameter dimensions

JIS (arrow) style radius and diameter dimensions can now be created. The administrator can define the installation's style preference by checking or unchecking the JIS Arrow option in the Dimension Defaults section of cadprof.

CHNG-E

The CHNG-E function under /CHNG/ allows added dimension text to be easily copied from one dimesion to other dimensions.

FK Group Change

Move temp group to current layer (Windows only)

If a temporary group exists when the new layer definition panel is brought up, the option to "Add grouped elements to the current layer" is available. Clicking on this button will move the elements in the temporary group from the layer in which they currently reside to the current layer.

FK Line Change

Centerline overshoot

A centerline overshoot distance can now be specified when creating centerlines.

FK Note Changes

/TEXT FIND/ is now case insensitive (Windows only)

/TEXT FIND/ is now case-insensitive by default with a optional YN to make it case-sensitive.

/TABLE/ parameter panel is now a Windows panel (Windows only)

The panel used to enter parameters for the FK Note /TABLE/ function has been converted to a Windows dialog panel.

/ALIGN/

The new /ALIGN/ function allows a group of notes to be quickly aligned with a reference note.

/FONT/ available under Windows (Windows only)

Users can now select from a set of bitmap fonts when displaying and plotting text elements. When text is plotted with one of these fonts, the text string is placed in the plot file. This will enable searching on text in CADAM Drawings that have been converted to PDF. The fonts available are Times Roman, Helvetica and Courier (including bold and italic variants).

Size limit on imported tables removed

In previous releases, CSV files with more than 50 rows or 50 columns could not be imported under the /TABLE/ function. This limit has been removed. The new limit is 60,000 cells.

Several improvements to /TABLE/

The horizontal and vertical alignment of the text within a table cell can now be defined by the user.

When converting existing lines and notes to a table, a temporary group does not need to be predefined. The user can define the group on-the-fly by clicking two rectangular trap points as the first step of the conversion.

When converting existing lines and notes to a table, the user has the option of "fitting" the notes horizontally and vertically to the cell. This option will adjust the horizontal and vertical sizing parameters of the note so that it will fit entirely within the cell.

The dialog for creating tables has been streamlined and options for defining the hang point have been expanded.

YN Group under /FIT/

FK Note -> /CHNG/ -> /FIT/ now has a "YN Group" option which allows all notes in a predefined temporary group to be fit to the same length in one operation.

FK Offset Changes

Repeat offsets

An offset distance may now be specified in "x@y" form, indicating that the offset distance "y" should be repeated "x" times. For example, keying 4@0.5 would be equivalent to keying "0.5,1.0,1.5,2.0" for the offset distances.

Default offset distance from relative analysis

The default offset distance will now be seeded with the results of a previously performed FK Analysis /RELATIVE/ operation.

FK Relimit Changes

Break at intersection

A line or circle can be selected in the new "Break at Intersections" function. This will cause the selected element to be broken at all points where a valid element crosses it. Valid intersecting elements are lines, circles, multilines, text, points, splines, symbols and dittos if a line was selected. Valid intersecting elements are lines, circles, and multilines if a circle was selected.

Relimit dimension arcs

Dimension witness arcs can now be relimited.

CADPROF Change

Force drawing ID case

The existing AIX CADPROF switch to 'force case' has been enhanced to add the option to force drawing names to be upper case. This switch has been added to the Windows version of CADPROF.

EFT Changes

AutoCAD 2013 support (Windows only - Added in SP3)

CADAM Drafting drawings can now be imported from and exported to the AutoCAD 2013 DXF/DWG format.

Multi-leader Support (Windows only - Added in SP3)

Multi-leaders can now be imported into CADAM Drafting. They are imported as individual arrows and linear splines.

AutoCAD 2010 support (Windows only)

CADAM Drafting drawings can now be imported from and exported to the AutoCAD 2010 DXF/DWG format.

AutoCAD 2007 support (Windows only)

The AutoCAD 2007 format DXF and DWG files are supported for both input and output.

OMAP_SYSLYR Option Added (Windows only)

A new option, OMAP_SYSLYR, has been added to control the creation of certain 'bookkeeping' layers. The default 'YES' will will maintain the behavior of previous releases. If this option is set to 'NO', then certain bookkeeping layers that CCD creates, such as those for each view, will not be created. User defined layers will continue to be mapped regardless of the setting of this option. Another related change is that the 'No-shown Elements' layer will now only be created if there are no-shown elements in the model.

AutoCAD 11, 12, 13 desupport (Windows only)

AutoCAD versions 11, 12 and 13 have been desupported.

Hardcopy Changes

FONTOVERRIDE plot option (Windows only)

A new option, FONTOVERRIDE, is available when plotting to the Postscript, CGM and Windows printers on Windows. This option allows the user to specify that all text should be rendered using one of the bitmap fonts that is now available. When this option is used, the actual text string will be placed in the plot file. An example of where this will be useful is when CADAM Drafting drawings are converted to PDF. Having the actual text string in the plot file will allow text searching within the PDF file.

New Print menu items(Windows only)

The plot toolbar now contains 2 new buttons for "Print" and "Print with Window Temporary Plot Data". Clicking on the "Print" button will print the current model to the default Windows printer without any intervening dialog. "Print with Window Temporary Plot Data" will do the same thing, but will use the current window boundary to create temporary plot data. These options are also available from the File menu. When selected from the File menu, these options will display the printer selection dialog box.

Batch plot with the Windows printer(Windows only)

The printer selection dialog will no longer be displayed when plotting to the Windows printer in batch mode. Instead, the print will automatically be sent to the default windows printer.

"Modify" button added to plot format table panel(Windows only)

A "Modify" button has been added to the plot format table button to allow the administrator to more easily control the order in which the formats are displayed.

Control Plot Tracking Information Scale

The user can now control the scaling of the plot tracking information by using the NOTESCALE plot option.

View Button for Plot Status(Windows only)

A "View" button has been added to the Plot Status panel. This button will allow the user to view the contents of a status file. Multiple files may be selected and they will be viewed one after the other. Double-clicking on a file name will select that file and initiate the viewing process.

IUE Changes

Intel Visual Fortran Compiler XE V12.0 support (Windows only)

The Intel Visual Fortran XE V12.0 compiler has been certified for the development of IUE programs.

Absoft Fortran V11.0 support (Windows only)

The Absoft Fortran V11.0 compiler has been certified for the development of IUE programs.

DPI returned for raster elements

The DPI is now returned for raster (itype=2060) elements.

CADEX Changes

Tracing a bus to a sheet extension component

CADEX has been modified to allow tracing a bus to a sheet extension component.

CADEX Specific Data Tips and Pre-select Highlighting(Windows only)

When in the CADEX function key, the Data Tips function now shows specific information about the CADEX component that is under the cursor. Similarly, pre-select highlight will highlight CADEX components instead of single elements when in the CADEX function key.

Location of CADEX support drawings (Windows only)

All support drawings and files will now be expected to reside in a subdirectory named "Support". Moving these support drawings and files will be done automatically when the user brings up CADEX for the first time under V4R3. A file named "support_migration_done-do_not_remove" will be added to every CADEX drawing directory that has already been processed. If this file is deleted or renamed, it will cause the search and relocating of the support drawings and files to be re-done.

Traceable lines

Lines can now be traced, whereas previoulsy only multilines could be traced.

Automatic and enhanced cdxcvt processing (Windows only)

When importing a model through ICFTRAN, if the model is determined to be a CADEX model, the CADEX Convert (cdxcvt) utility is run against the model. Because cdxcvt works on filed models and ICFTRAN does not normally file the model, ICFTRAN, in this case, files the model in a predetermined Group/User so cdxcvt can be run. Once the model is filed and cdxcvt has completed, the converted model is opened.

In addition, when moving CADEX models from Mainframe CADAM to CADAM Drafting, the /BUILD/ -> /CONVERT/ -> /WORKSTATION/ process should no longer be performed on the model. All necessary processing is now performed by cdxcvt.